Annoyed when beer not on tap at brewery?

I agree it's frustrating, but imagine it's often a case of them not having that many tap lines available and not selling the beer in question in quantity enough to keep it on all year. (In that instance, 12oz bottles would be appreciated!)

Or conversely, it could be them not having enough quantity to push it on draft but wanting to make it available year long to the folks that gotta have it.

 

I'm going the opposite way and relate this to Suarez Family. They routinely have for sale 3-6 different bottled versions of their barrel aged "farmhouse" styles, and have either one, or none, of these beers on tap. If it was my brewery, considering the cost to make these beers, I would never have any of them on tap.

 

Depends on the brewery I suppose. I wouldn't expect a brewery like Founders as an example to be able to provide kegs of beer to 50 states is sufficient volume to allow us a taste before buying a bottle. Would be nice but probably not practical depending on where you live.

 

I can see how it would make sense for smaller operations to only bottle limited runs, at least, from what I think I know about the bottling/kegging process. Still, I do find it annoying when a bottle purchase is required to try a beer, especially if I only have time for a drink or two, or I can't afford a 750mL of 14% stout for the day.

 

From what I've seen on a few occasions, I'd say the level of outrage amongst folks going to a brewery only release is much higher when the keg has kicked before they got their rightful share than it is among those who get to a brewery only release to find they have to buy a bottle without having tasted the beer.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you saw more physical reactions towards being denied a product vs. having to spend more to obtain it (total cost, not cost per ounce). Some people will pay whatever to try a beer, especially if it ticks one of those magic boxes (like a Top 250 beer for some).

 

Also curious, but don't some sour ales still have active cultures in them? Meaning if you served it through a tap line, it would have to be thoroughly cleaned (and brettanomyces has to be killed with high temperature) prior to putting another keg on tap.

I remember New Belgium saying they double clean the facility after they finish bottling each year's batch of La Folie just due to the nature of the product. I wouldn't want that stuff in my tap lines, especially if we required a quick line swap on a busy night.

This would only explain serving limited sour ales in bottles though, if my memory is recalling correctly.

 

In the case of farmhouse ales, it is to my understanding that they are traditionally bottle conditioned. So finding them in kegs would mean keg conditioning as well. Or perhaps not keg conditioning, and the product will be a little different in the keg.

 

No. I can predict future enjoyment very well based on past experiences. Very rarely am I taking a blind risk or worried about the quality of a beer I'm going to buy. When I feel like I am I don't go to that brewery any more.

 

Ive always found it annoying when a brewery advertises (on social media) a special release ON TAP in the taproom and when you get there they hit you with "Sorry, we arent tapping that until ____o'clock." Bitch, your ad didnt say anything about time sensitivity, crack that sucker open!

 

I'm only annoyed when they run out tbh. Can brewed like yesterday vs. draft makes little to no difference for me. Cheers!

 

Generally I expect what you are describing for special release beers. Isn’t it great when you DO find that such a beer is on tap at the brewery, not around the time the beer was released, and you are pleasantly surprised?

 

I'm more annoyed at the sense of entitlement that a good amount of beer drinkers seem to have these days.

 

I have similar sentiments when I visit new cities expecting some of their big, delicious stouts to be on tap. I recently visited Minneapolis and loved the city. There's a lot of good breweries there, but every place that I went to was missing big, bold imperial stouts, barleywines, scotch ales, porters, etc. I'm not even talking about rare, special releases, either; just an decent ~10% imperial stout. They had great IPAs, but I'm a stout man, so that was a little disappointing.

I know AleSmith is known for their bigger stout and BA variations of their big beers, and they always have something great on tap, which is why they are my favorite in San Diego. It's a great feeling when you research a brewery, note their top beers, visit a brewery and they have something special that you have been looking for. I know that this will not always be possible for smaller breweries, but I wouldn't say that AleSmith is huge and they somehow are able to do this.

I agree, though. I am also annoyed when there is a new release of a beer and bottles are released before tasting is available in the tap room or the beer is basically never on tap. Would be nice if every brewery had a teaser of the beer (allow tasters in advance before bottles are available for purchase). Modern Times seems to do this and I appreciate this type of gesture.

 

Grow up. Name another consumable that you can try before you buy it.

 

Meth?
P

 

So meth and cheese at one cheese outlet? I don't thing your argument has been bolstered.